


It Isn't There, Franken.

by Abitscrewy



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Other, Schizophrenia, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-10
Updated: 2016-07-10
Packaged: 2018-07-22 16:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7445779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abitscrewy/pseuds/Abitscrewy





	It Isn't There, Franken.

Mornings are quiet. He normally hardly notices it’s turned from 4:00 PM to 5:00 AM. He just got up to make some coffee, keep that caffeine going; Smoke a cigarette outside. He questions if the sun is coming up or going down, and checks the time.  
That would explain that. 5:38 AM…

The silent scientist puts out the remainder of his cigarette and tosses it in the trash bin, removing his glasses so he can rub his temples. His hand slid down his face, resting at the stubble on his chin. Sometimes he thinks he should shave. Very quickly he’ll remember he keeps forgetting to buy razors.  
But that’ll have to wait. He must continue his train of thought on this project. Taking his coffee back to his desk, he wakes the computer from sleep mode and goes back to typing.

All seems normal for a while, but he’s interrupted by a noise; Growling, right in his left ear. His eyes widen and a chill runs up his spine. His grip on the mouse tightens before he whips around to see what’s there. Or what isn’t there, it seems. Disappointed at the lack of a creature, he turns back to the computer.  
 _Looks like it’s auditory ones today._

He slid a hand under his glasses, rubbing at his eyes for a moment as if that will help.

Another sound, a scream, causes him to leap from his seat and knock his glasses from his features. They clatter on the ground, and he ignores it. His chest rising and falling quickly, eyes wide and looking for the source of the noise.  
“M….Marie..?” He whispers softly, taking steps towards her room. She should be asleep, unless something happened.  
 _Oh gods did something happen. Oh gods oh gods.._

The panic starts to set in. He starts pacing. Should he take the risk and run to her room? What if it was just another damn hallucination? What if something actually happened? Will she care if he wakes her? His mind is buzzing, and so are his ears. More sounds are starting. Whispers and crying and that  **god damn buzzing noise!**  
He’s heard that buzzing before, when Medusa took his mind and just.. Played with it. That noise alone makes him cringe, brings back memories of things he did not want to do; Things he thought he did, and very well could have done, but didn’t do. The accusations, going behind Lord Death’s back. The memories. The noise.

_The noise the noise the noise the noise…_

“Just shut up! I can’t think, dammit!!” He snaps, clasping his hands to his ears.  _Where did this sudden attack even come from?_  
His eyes open. He didn’t even realize they’d closed. The ground is much closer than it was before; He’s on his knees. His breathing got worse, and tears threaten to fall. He quickly wipes his eyes and looks around. It’s all blurry, his glasses were under his knees when he fell. No glass cuts though.

The mentally exhausted Stein stands, hoping he wasn’t too loud when he snapped, and walks carefully towards the main bathroom. He opens up the cabinet and grabs the bottle containing his pills… Well, one of them. These are the ones meant to counteract the schizophrenia. They make him sick to his stomach but anything would be worth not waking Marie. She needs rest, deserves to relax after the events of the past month.

The bottle is empty. How long has it been empty? He could have sworn that it wasn’t empty. Oh gods, when did he even check it last?–

A hand on the back of his neck starts to squeeze, cutting off his oxygen. He drops the bottle and tries to elbow whatever it is that has a grip on him. As there’s nothing there, the momentum carries him all the way around and his elbow slams into the wall. It hurts like hell but it’s not nearly as prominent as the buzzing in his ears. He sets a palm on the sink, to make sure he’s not on the ground again, and heads out to the hallway. He has to check on Marie, just in case. It’s not worth the risk.

He opens the door quietly and there she is, asleep curled up in one of his lab coats. It brings the slightest smile to his face before something grabs him again. He doesn’t wish to wake her so he just closes the door quietly and goes up a couple floors to mutter and pace.

“Just leave us alone.. Why are you doing this, who are you.. Why am I like this..?!” He makes sure to keep quiet, though he drags his hand along the wall as he walks. He needs to sit down but he doesn’t care, he’s being bombarded with unwanted memories, noises, hallucinations. Now he’s seeing things too. Shadows, mostly.

“Please.. I’m begging you…” He finally slips to the ground and rubs his eyes again. Chase away the tears. He needs a distraction, but he’s isolated himself. He puts his hands over his ears again, trying to get control of his breathing. His heart shouldn’t be going this fast, it’s getting a little dangerous.

 

“Franken?” That voice. Soft and tired and.. Real. It feels real. A gentle hand on his shoulder which relaxes instantly at the touch. His breathing starts to slow and he shakily reaches for the hand. It’s real, it’s there on his shoulder. He turns and sees Marie, or at least her blurred figure. He can tell it’s her though, she has this glow to him. Always had, always will. She kneels down in front of him with her other hand on his other shoulder.

“It’s okay, Franken.. They’re not there. None of it is real, it’s alright.” She yawns slightly, eyes wrinkled and squinted. She hasn’t gotten the dust out of her eyes yet, and yet she’s taking the time to comfort him. He feels her warmth and curls in on himself, his hands dropping to his lap. His head leans forward and she lets him lay there with her. She trails her hand in circles on his back, sighing somewhat.  
“We’ll get your meds refilled okay? Once you calm down I’ll go to the pharmacy for you. You can come along if you want,” She whispers, knowing to be gentle with her words and tone. She’s pregnant and still more mentally stable than Stein. He shifts and puts his forehead against her shoulder, nodding slowly. She chuckles a little bit.  
“Well… Maybe we should both eat first before we do anything like that. Come on,” She nods, taking his hand and helping him up. He’s tall and heavy, but she’s strong. He leans on her a little bit on the way to the kitchen. Once there, he turns on the fan over the stove and lights a cigarette.  
He’d said he was trying to quit, dammit. Yet he keeps going back to them. The smoke calms him, gives him something to focus on. He leans on the counter, a palm on the surface as the other holds his little burning addiction.

 

Sometimes the hallucinations aren’t awful. For example; At the moment he sees color swirling around the smoke. He doesn’t smile or anything, but they’re rather relaxing colors. Turquoise, soft oranges, purples, and yellows. He sighs out another puff of smoke, getting a slightly disappointed look from his sleepy partner. She was hoping he could get off of them. Even if he has a device to keep the smoke from his lungs, it’s still an addiction. Which means he’ll go through withdrawal of some kind getting off of them the longer he’s on them. He’s been smoking since he was fourteen years old.. Spirit taught him how.

Marie set a hand on his, looking worriedly at him for a moment. What is going on in his head? She often wishes she could hear it, maybe understand it a little better. Unfortunately she’s not psychic, so for now she just cooks up some eggs and bacon. He loves the smell of it, but it doesn’t show on his face. He’s turned off the part where his face reacts to his emotions. Somehow he’s figured out how to do that, but it can backfire. If something gets to him, they all come pouring out. It’s somewhat frightening to watch all those emotions at once, so confusedly pouring through his features.  
The eggs are good, so is the bacon.

Marie sits with him at the island, watching him. She’s wary of another attack.  
He’s still hearing things. It didn’t quite stop when she touched him, but they’re much quieter. It’s become more manageable. He eats some of the food, then it starts to taste like ash. The more he chews, the less likely it is for him to swallow it. It just reminds him of the shit he used to get in that little ‘hospital’…  
He puts the rest away as leftovers, and puts out his cigarette in the ashtray. He sits back down and slides his hands into his hair, staring down at the counter top. His eyes squint and his eyelids get heavy. He’s been awake for about three days, working on this project. The exhaustion is hitting him hard.  
His arms fall down onto the counter, and his head onto his arms. It’s a rather slow descent, so he won’t be in pain or anything. He’s out like a light in seconds.  
She can’t help but chuckle at the sight. For a moment she makes sure he’s out, then pulls an arm over her shoulder and gets him to his room. Thank the gods it’s not up any stairs. She sets him in bed and covers him with a blanket, taking off his shoes and lab coat. Maybe even undresses him to his boxers. It’s fairly warm and he’s been sweating, so she puts the clothing in the laundry.  
“I feel like a nanny..” She mutters, sighing softly as she comes back to his room.

Marie sat next to him on the bed, yawning and flopping onto her side with an ‘ugh’ sound. Her eyes drift close and she drifts off into a dream.  
Maybe all this was a dream.  
Sure.


End file.
